swastika traced in the snow on front lawn of jewish couple's home
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a swastika outlined in the snow by footprints in front of the home of a jewish physician in montreal on december 18, 2025.
photo courtesy of lior bibas
a large swastika traced in the snow in the front yard of a jewish physician’s home is being investigated by the montreal police hate crimes unit, a police spokesperson said this week.
a 911 call was received on dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and police met with the physician’s spouse, who had made the call, said police spokesperson johany charland.
according to initial information, a swastika was traced in the snow in front of the residence, located in the borough of côte-des-neiges—notre-dame-de-grâce, she said. investigators with the hate crimes unit are looking for surveillance cameras and possible witnesses and are interviewing neighbours, she said.
the physician’s spouse, who is also jewish, arrived home in the early evening of dec. 18 and saw that “someone had carved this disgusting swastika in my front yard.”
(for reasons of safety and security, the couple have requested that their identities and personal details be kept private.)
although the swastika is an ancient, widely used, sacred symbol in many parts of the world, particularly in south and east asia, its meaning was forever altered when it was appropriated by the nazi party in the 1920s to represent hatred, antisemitism and racial superiority.
“my grandfather fought the nazis in europe,” the spouse said. “for someone who is jewish to see a swastika is not good energy.
“you don’t know if someone did it to target you or if it was random,” said the spouse, acknowledging that the swastika “might not be aimed at me — just some teenager with an empty brain … but anyone who sees it should be very concerned. a neighbour of mine who is not jewish was concerned.”
antisemitism in canada has reached “perilous, record-setting heights,” according to the latest edition of the annual audit of antisemitic incidents by b’nai brith canada.
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the audit, made public in april by the canadian jewish advocacy organization, found a spike in antisemitic incidents in the aftermath of the hamas-led terrorist attacks on israel on oct. 7, 2023. israel’s ensuing war against hamas contributed to a proliferation of incidents — in montreal and elsewhere — including targeted harassment of jewish institutions and individuals perceived as supporting israel and repeated cases involving graffiti, intimidation near synagogues and schools and harassment in public spaces.
“the atrocities of oct. 7, 2023, opened deep fissures in canadian society,” richard robertson, director of research and advocacy for b’nai brith canada, said in april. “the subsequent rise in antisemitism has exposed a disturbing undercurrent of jew-hatred driven by a virulent, radicalized minority.”
canada is not alone. on dec. 14, a terrorist attack targeting the jewish community in sydney, australia killed 15 people. and in a yougov survey in the united kingdom made public this week, 51 per cent of the general public said they believe antisemitism has increased in the u.k. since october 2023.
dr. lior bibas, a montreal cardiologist and critical care specialist, is president and co-founder of the association des médecins juifs du québec (amjq). he learned of the swastika incident from another doctor and, in a gesture of support, reached out to the couple in whose yard the swastika was found. “they were a bit shaken that this happened,” he said.
the not-for-profit amjq, established shortly after the events of oct. 7, 2023, has about 550 members, including about 150 medical students, residents and fellows. its twofold mandate, bibas explained, is for trainees to feel heard and supported and able to turn to more experienced physicians “to navigate difficult moments” — and also to push back against a perceived rise in antisemitism within health care.
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“over the past two years, we have unfortunately witnessed a clear lack of political neutrality within the health-care network: discriminatory remarks directed at our students, health-care professionals taking partisan positions within hospitals, and medical courses containing excerpts of propaganda,” bibas said.
“all of this runs counter to our shared quebec values, founded on respect, neutrality and equality.”
association des médecins juifs du québec president dr. lior bibas learned of the swastika incident from another doctor and, in a gesture of support, reached out to the couple in whose yard the swastika was found. “they were a bit shaken that this happened,” he said.
pierre obendrauf
/
montreal gazette
the centre for israel and jewish affairs (cija), a national advocacy organization, said tuesday that it is aware of the swastika incident and that federation cja and its director of community security have been in contact with those affected.
“here and around the world, chants of hate and incitement against jews have gone unchecked as we have seen antisemitic incidents rise to an all-time high over the last two years,” said eta yudin, senior vice-president of cija for quebec. “last week, groups of protesters stormed into shopping centres and indigos across the country, harassing christmas shoppers.
“these incidents do not happen in a silo: concrete action must be taken against hate. alongside our partners at federation cja, we will continue to engage with all levels of government and support the (montreal police) to ensure that those responsible be held accountable.”
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